By Our Staff Reporter
Nainital, 25 Apr: The Uttarakhand High Court yesterday once again rejected the bail plea of 20 accused in the Banbhulpura (Haldwani) violence case, including alleged mastermind Abdul Malik and his son. The court has scheduled the next hearing for 5 May. The violent incident, which occurred on 8 February 2024, resulted in six deaths and left many injured.
A joint bench comprising Justice Manoj Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit heard the bail applications of the accused. After reviewing the arguments presented by their legal counsel, the court deferred its decision, keeping their bail applications pending while fixing the next hearing date.
It may be recalled that the principal accused in the case, Abdul Malik and his wife, had earlier secured bail in a separate case concerning encroachment on government land. However, Abdul Malik has not been granted bail in the violence case, and 20 accused remain imprisoned along with him. While his wife is out on bail, his son Abdul Moin also continues to remain in custody on charges related to the violent incident.
More than 50 youths implicated in the violence have, so far, been granted bail by the High Court, though legal proceedings against them are still ongoing.
It may be recalled that the violence in Banbhulpura area of Haldwani city had erupted on 8 February 2024 when a team from the Municipal Corporation and Administration visited Banbhulpura to remove allegedly illegal madrasas and other encroachments on government land. The operation was met with strong resistance as a mob attacked the officials including the women officials and the policewomen and had even set government properties ablaze. in addition, the Banbhulpura police station was torched during the chaos, leading to the loss of six lives and injuries to numerous policemen and journalists.
While a section of the media had then tried to paint the incident as a clash between two communities, in reality, it was a clear case of violence in which on duty government officials and police officials were directly attacked by a mob allegedly on the direction of the “mastermind” Abdul Malik and the attackers belonged to one community only.
